SINGAPORE, Oct. 28 -- German Riesling (white wine) and Singaporean chili crab may seem an unlikely pairing, as Prime Minister Lawrence Wong readily acknowledged at an official dinner hosted for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday (October 27) night.

But Wong noted that the wine's freshness and acidity complemented the rich, spicy flavours of the local favourite remarkably well.

This food pairing is akin to Singapore and Germany - geographically far apart and very different countries - yet with complementary strengths that could open up new possibilities, such as in industrial artificial intelligence (AI), advanced manufacturing, biomedical sciences and other emerging fields.

"Perhaps there is a lesson here about our two countri...